The Florida GOP believes Hillary Clinton's trip to Tampa signals liberal "desperation" ahead of the election, prompted by Joe Biden allegedly calling Trump supporters "garbage" in response to a pro-Trump comedian joking that Puerto Rico is a trash island.
Clinton, a former First Lady and contender for President in 2016, is set to campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday to encourage Democrats to vote before Monday's early voting deadline. Florida GOP Chair Evan Power claims this to be a canary in the coal mine for the end of Florida Democrats.
“Right on cue, following Joe Biden shamelessly calling Trump supporters garbage, the Harris Campaign is bringing the Pioneer in Trump Derangement Syndrome to Florida: Hillary Rodham Clinton, better known as ‘Crooked Hillary,’” said Florida GOP Chairman Evan Power in a Thursday statement.
“This is a final act of desperation for the Florida Democrats," he continued. "The only ‘garbage’ we see in Florida is Kamala’s ‘deplorable’ economic policies, dangerous open border, and broken promises.”
On Sunday night, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at Trump's Madison Square Garden rally told a joke hated across party lines: Puerto Rico is a "floating island of garbage."
This sparked condemnation from both Republicans and Democrats, with Puerto Rican superstars like singer Bad Bunny and actress Aubrey Plaza entering the political fray to endorse Harris over the former President. The momentum seemed to have swung to Harris—until Biden said "Only garbage I see floating out there is [Trump's] supporters."
Later, Biden and the White House claimed that the official quote was: "only garbage I see floating out there is [Trump's] supporter's" with an apostrophe, to refer solely to Hinchcliffe. Regardless of the truth, the damage was done.
The Biden gaffe echoes that of Clinton in 2016, when just two months before the election, she said that half of Trump's supporters could be placed into the "basket of deplorables." She doubled down, defining the basket as one containing "racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic" people.
Now, as a Harris surrogate, she will be coming to Tampa. Of note, Harris has yet to personally visit Florida, considering the former battleground state now has over a million more registered Republicans than Democrats, and over 700,000 more Republicans than Democrats have voted ahead of Election Day.
“Nikki Fried is delusional if she thinks Hillary will make Kamala Harris more appealing to Florida voters when they have continuously rejected her dangerous Democrat policies that have crippled our economy, opened our borders, and made the world a dangerous place," Power continued. "We are confident that President Trump will fix all that Kamala has broken.”
The election is Nov. 5.
